Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance'
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance'
OTTAWA -
Canada needs a “Conservative renaissance,” former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
Harper delivered a speech that evening to a room of party faithful staged by the Canada Strong and Free Network, formerly called the Manning Centre.
His public appearance is a rare one for Harper, who exited political life after losing the 2015 election to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals after nine years in power.
Poilievre's election as party leader last September appears to have changed that, with Harper throwing his endorsement behind Poilievre, which was the first time he had done so for a Conservative leader.
Introduced as a "statesman" of the party, Harper mounted a defence of the term "populism," which he said is often portrayed in a negative or imprecise light by what he called the "liberal media."
"Our country is badly in need of a Conservative renaissance at the national level," he told the crowd.
Harper reminded the audience that the modern Conservative party was built from the populism in Western Canada, a sense of nationalism in Quebec and Tories from Ontario.
He said its owes credit to Preston Manning, founder of the populist Reform Party, a precursor to the Canadian Alliance, which merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
Harper and Manning then shared the stage Wednesday for what organizers billed as a "fireside chat" about the legacy of the Reform Party.
During the talk, the former Conservative prime minister quipped about foreign election interference, telling the crowd "I hear it's topical" and referred to the federal NDP as a "branch plant" for entering into a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberal government.
Only its leader Jagmeet Singh could enter into a deal with the Liberals and leave with nothing, Harper told the room.
As for Poilievre — whom Harper at one point referred to as first meeting as a "very tiny Reformer" — the former prime minister said if he forms the next government, Poilievre would be leading under much tougher circumstances than he ever did.
In the meantime, Harper said Poilievre's job as Opposition leader is to hold Trudeau's government to account, rather than outline how he would run the country.
"That's the job."
He said until an election happens, Poilievre and his team should be developing their alternative vision for what the country looks like to be ready.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
A New Democrat MP is trying to convince his colleagues to change the rules that govern the House of Commons in a series of ways he says would instill 'democratic controls' on the prime minister's 'unfettered' powers.
Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada announced it had reached a 'tentative' agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history. Here's a rundown of the developments from Parliament Hill as they happened.
The House committee studying foreign election interference heard from top 2019 and 2021 Liberal and Conservative campaign directors on Tuesday, with party officials from both camps speaking about the need for politicians to come together to address any "legislative gaps" ahead of the next vote.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to keep "multiple murderers" in maximum-security prison, as fallout continues over the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec.
The lawyer representing a woman who alleges she was sexually harassed by a former Northwest Territories premier says her client would likely have to end her lawsuit if a judge determines the trial should be moved to Quebec.
The Canadian military has confirmed it participated in a May 2023 forum for Five Eyes intelligence partners that was held by the director of the Pentagon's UFO research program.
Global News and its parent company Corus Entertainment say in response to a lawsuit filed by Han Dong that their reporting about the Toronto MP was based on a detailed investigation involving multiple sources.
A rare manuscript detailing comedy shows and drinking songs from the 15th century revealed what medieval audiences found funny more than 500 years ago.
Andrea Fessler found out her third daughter didn't qualify for Canadian citizenship -- even though her two older daughters did -- when she arrived at the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong to register.
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
Video shows Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) staff leading the rescue of a severely entangled humpback whale off the coast of British Columbia last week.
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has said images of wildfires burning across Canada are some of the most severe ever witnessed in the country and the forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
The air throughout the city of Toronto smelled of smoke on Tuesday and Canada's weather agency warns it could get worse before the week is over as wildfires continue to burn in Quebec and northern Ontario.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wasted no time going after Donald Trump while launching his presidential campaign on Tuesday, calling the former president and current Republican primary front-runner a "lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog" and arguing that he's the only one who can stop him.
On Dec. 1, 2022, a boat carrying around 180 Rohingya refugees set out from Bangladesh, bound for Indonesia. On board were babies, pregnant women and children fleeing surging violence in Bangladesh's refugee camps. One week later, the boat vanished.
Lawyers for Ukraine told the United Nations' top court Tuesday that Russia bankrolled a 'campaign of intimidation and terror' by rebels in eastern Ukraine starting in 2014 and sought to replace Crimea's multiethnic community with 'discriminatory Russian nationalism' after its occupation and annexation of the region.
Seven people were shot, and three of them were left with life-threatening wounds, when gunfire rang out Tuesday outside a downtown theatre where a high school graduation ceremony had recently concluded, causing attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses reported.
The past drug use that Prince Harry detailed in his explosive memoir should spark the release of his immigration paperwork, a conservative American think tank argued in a Washington court Tuesday as they appealed to a judge for a quicker response a records request the U.S. government has so far deemed private.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says a woman's lawsuit alleging he coerced her into sex and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages is "a large stretch of the imagination" filled with exaggerations and salacious details "to create a media frenzy."
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
Global News and its parent company Corus Entertainment say in response to a lawsuit filed by Han Dong that their reporting about the Toronto MP was based on a detailed investigation involving multiple sources.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to keep "multiple murderers" in maximum-security prison, as fallout continues over the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec.
Two people died in what officials believe was a mass fentanyl overdose over the weekend involving five people in a hotel room in the Hawaii tourist mecca of Waikiki.
Federal safety regulators are urging consumers to stop using baby pillows that have been linked to 10 infant deaths but are still being sold on Facebook Marketplace, despite being recalled two years ago.
The James Webb Space Telescope set its sights on a galaxy 20 million light-years away, capturing a dazzling star-forming galaxy in images streaked with the signature of passing asteroids.
Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple's next Big Thing: the high-priced headset called Vision Pro, a device infused with totally virtual reality as well as augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings.
The Canadian military has confirmed it participated in a May 2023 forum for Five Eyes intelligence partners that was held by the director of the Pentagon's UFO research program.
Prince Harry testimony in a London court, both in cross-examination in the witness box and in his written witness statement, was rare and unusual. By turns defensive, frank and accusatory, his testimony shone a light on life as a royal and on Harry's bitter personal feud with the press. Here's what to know after a historic day at the High Court in London.
Francoise Gilot, a prolific and acclaimed painter who produced art for well more than a half-century but was nonetheless more famous for her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso -- and for leaving him -- died Tuesday in New York City, where she had lived for decades. She was 101.
Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted Monday evening to authorize a strike if they don't agree on a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies by June 30.
Lululemon’s CEO Calvin McDonald said the retailer stands by its decision to fire two employees who tried to intervene during a theft at one of its stores.
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
Global prices for wheat and corn soared Tuesday after a major dam in Ukraine collapsed, renewing market fears about the fragility of the country's ability to ship food to Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia as it fights a war with Russia.
Years ago, when my now-grown daughter Justine was a toddler, we visited a U-pick farm where she plucked plump, ripe strawberries from a field of sprawling plants. Some made it into the basket on that sunny June day; others went directly into her mouth.
A whisky brand co-founded by actor Kiefer Sutherland says it has raised more than $100,000 for relief efforts related to the ongoing Nova Scotia wildfires.
Jessica Tuomela is a swimmer and triathlete, and has been on the podium at the Paralympics, but says the feeling returning a missing person home safely is no comparison.
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski expressed relief that two of his defensive players were not physically harmed while being robbed at gunpoint by six masked men outside a downtown nightclub.
On the eve of the RBC Canadian Open, news of a merger between the PGA Tour, European Tour and LIV Golf shocked the golf world -- including one of Canada's best players.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
Ontario has committed to paying a third of the cost to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., premier Doug Ford said Thursday.
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday formally pleaded not guilty to a fraud charge over his alleged failure to declare millions of dollars held in a trust in Singapore to Britain's government.
